For over 11,000 years, sheep have played a crucial role in human history, providing meat, milk, and wool for clothing. But how did they come to be domesticated?

A new study led by scientists from Trinity College Dublin and LMU Munich has uncovered some key genetic insights into the history of domestic sheep. By sequencing 118 ancient sheep genomes spanning over 12,000 years and covering regions from Mongolia to Ireland, the team has pieced together a clearer picture of sheep domestication and its connection to human migration patterns.

According to the scientists’ report published in Science, the earliest evidence for sheep domestication comes from the village of Aşıklı Höyük in central Turkey. The sheep here, dating back over 11,000 years, are closely related to wild mouflon, the ancestors of today’s domestic sheep. This research supports the idea that early farmers in the Fertile Crescent began domesticating wild sheep, initially capturing and breeding them. Over time, these sheep populations spread across the region and into Europe, where they were selectively bred for specific traits, such as coat color.

One of the most important findings of this study was the identification of the gene “KIT,” which is associated with white coat color in sheep. This gene was one of the earliest signs of human influence on sheep biology, showing that early farmers cared about the appearance of their animals, similar to how livestock is bred today. By 8,000 years ago, domestic sheep had already started to show regional differences. Sheep in Europe and the Middle East had diverged from one another, but their genetic makeup continued to mix due to migrations, which helped spread sheep herding practices.

The study also reveals a significant sheep migration from the Eurasian steppes into Europe during the Bronze Age, around 5,000 years ago. This movement of sheep, linked to pastoralist cultures, mirrors human migrations during the same period. Researchers found that by the Bronze Age, European sheep populations had about half of their ancestry from the Eurasian steppe, suggesting that the spread of sheep herding and the exploitation of sheep products like milk and cheese helped drive these population changes. The study shows how the domestication and migration of sheep are deeply intertwined with the development of human cultures and economies.

References

• Trinity College Dublin. (2025, January 30). Ancient DNA analyses bring to life the 11,000-year intertwined genomic history of sheep and humans. Phys.Org; Trinity College Dublin. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-ancient-dna-analyses-life-year.html
• Daly, K. G., Mullin, V. E., Hare, A. J., Halpin, Á., Mattiangeli, V., Teasdale, M. D., Rossi, C., Geiger, S., Krebs, S., Medugorac, I., Sandoval-Castellanos, E., Özbaşaran, M., Duru, G., Gülcür, S., Pöllath, N., Collins, M., Frantz, L., Vila, E., Zidarov, P., … Bradley, D. G. (2025). Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep. Science, 387(6733), 492–497. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adn2094